Wheel



Patented 24, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WHEEL Application November 23, 1931, Serial No. 576,642

4 Claims. (C1. 301-6) This invention relates to wheels and in particular to a wheel adapted for use on heavier-thanair aircraft.

The principal object ot the invention is to provide a lightbut very strong wheel suitable for this service and to fabricate the same in as simple a fashion as possible to thereby reduce the cost of manufacture.

In order to obtain the necessary lightness, it is 1o the usual practice to make the airplane wheel of cast duralumin. 'Ihis particular aluminium alloy is, however, subject to appreciable metallurgical change, particularly during the pouring of the metal and subsequent cooling.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a wheel structure adaptable for casting, the resultant product being immune from the undesirable shrink strains, hot short and other deleterious effects ofttimes encountered in wheels of this type.

Other objects of the invention and desirable details of construction will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, whichembodiment is disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a transverse sectional view through the airplane wheel constituting the invention;

Figure 2 discloses, in side elevation, further details of the wheel structure; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view disclosing the structure of the juncture between the rim and body portions of the wheel casting.

In that embodiment of the invention shown in detail in Figure 1 of the drawing there is disclosed a two-part disk wheel comprising a hub, brake drum and wheel body casting and body stamping 12, the two being united, to complete the assembly, by.a stamped rim portion 14. The three wheel parts are preferably made of the wellknown aluminium alloy duralumin, well suited for airplane wheel structure by virtue of its tensile strength, lightness and other desirable characteristics.

The invention is directed to the fabrication of the cast section 10, and more particularly to the structure of the body portionand strengthening ribs 16 and their juncture with the peripheral rim supporting or bead portion 18 of thegcasting. In similar wheel structures it has been found that the area A, Figure 3, has been subject to fracture due to the shrink strains set up during ,cast- 'l'his area, if of thin section, is rapidly cooled during the pouring of the metal, resulting in what is known as a hot short condition. To ,5d obviate this eiiect the volume of metal in the juncture between the body portion, the rim supporting beadportion 18 and the ribs 16 is appreciably increased as disclosed in Figure 3, the fillets 20 merging into the bead and ribs to provide the desired thickness of the tapered rib. 00 This added bulk of metal obviates fracture at the critical area A and insures a structure fully capable of withstanding the abnormal side and load thrusts to which the airplane wheel is subjected.

The casting structure is completed by machining the aforementioned enlarged area at B, Figure l, to provide a seat for the rim ange 22 of the rim section 14.

A further feature of the invention relates to the rim structure of the reenforcing ribs, there being provided short ribs 26 merging into the brake drum, which ribs alternate with the longer ribs 16, the latter merging into the hub portion of the wheel. There are also provided relatively small ribs 28 at the juncture between the drum braking iiange and wheel body, which ribs serve to dissipate the heat developed during braking and thereby obviate shrink strains in the body member 10 which would develop were it not for `the presence of the aforementioned ribs.

While one illustrative embodiment has been described, it is not my intention to limit the scope of the invention to that particular embodiment, or otherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a wheel structure of the class described a wheel casting comprising hub, drum, body and reenforcing rib portions, said body portion terminating in an enlarged rim supporting bead portion, said rib portions terminating at their outer periphery in gradually enlarging portions merging into the`bead portion, whereby dangerous cooling stresses are substantially eliminated.

2. In a wheel structure'of the class described a wheel casting comprising hub, drum, body and reenforcing rib portions, said body portion terminating in an enlarged rim supporting bead portion, said rib portions terminatingat their outer 100 periphfry in enlarged portions merging into the bead p rtion, the juncture of said bead and rim portions being further characterized by a machined groove to accommodate a wheel rim member.

3. In a wheel structure of the class described a wheel casting comprising hub, drum, body and reenforcing rib portions, said body portion terminating in an enlarged rim supporting bead portion, said rib portions tetrminating at their outer periphery in enlarged portions merging into the bead portion, the juncture oi said bead and rim portions being i'urtherfcharacterized by a machined groove to accommodate a wheel rim member, said rib portions comprising llets merging with the bead portions and with the bocLv of the rib.

4. In a wheel structure of the class described a wheel casting comprising integral hub, cylindrical drum, drum head, radiardrum flange and 

